[Shaahayda Rizvi]

Hello Stephen,

I am fascinated by your experience with rebirthing. I did a bit of reading on the subject, and am thinking of going in for a session or two. They say  the rebirthing breathwork works better than talking therapies because it actually clears trauma from the body. After the second Pfizer dose, I have been experiencing very low energy, and it says with the rebirthing technique  “one can expect to experience an expanded state of consciousness – experiencing the unlimited you – and feeling more spiritually connected.” You Stephen, have been spiritually connected for as long as I have known you.

“However, definitely leaves me inclined to believe that something, though I know not what, does survive beyond the body, even if that is just individual consciousness being re-absorbed by a more universal Consciousness.”

I am going to begin where you stopped.

“Death is an expansion of consciousness”, wrote Peter Fenwick, having been a disbeliever for years and years after Raymond Moody’s book, “Life after Life” came out. After his transformation, he had this to say: “Science presents us with a picture of a much more mechanical universe in which there is no absolute morality and man has no purpose and no personal responsibility except to his culture and his biology”  Peter Fenwick, a  Neuropsychiatrist and Neurophysiologist is also known for his studies of epilepsy and end-of-life phenomena.

Peter’s patients came to him with cases of  NDE….”How should I believe them when just a few years ago, my peers and I had put aside Dr. Raymond Moody’s ‘Life after Life’,  as mere fiction?”

It’s a very difficult concept to believe in,  you either have it or not, or you meet someone whose stories, although beyond-belief, draw you in. So faced by enough NDE cases, he filed for a grant to research core experiences of people with NDE .  What he wanted to do was collect data, because faith is no longer sufficient in this day and age. Data on what causes NDEs.  “And it is data that apparently throws some light on our current concepts of Heaven and Hell – that the near-death experience seems to offer.”  (The Truth  in the Light – Peter Fenwick)

Grant awarded, his research took a serious turn.  He observed that NDE is caused by many types of serious illnesses, but what was common in those experiences was the brain that had stopped functioning. Heart attack patients, made the best candidates for his research because they were  kept alive while their brains were on a semi break. 

The data collection began in an atmosphere of doubt. The Doctors termed it  ‘mere hallucinations ’ because of drugs, but the nurses said, “NO, we believe the stories, there are so many now.”  Power in numbers is what propelled this project. The outcome of his research, among other things is a book, “The Art of Dying”.  This book looks at how other cultures have dealt with death and the dying process (The Tibetan “death system”, Swedenborg, etc.) and compares this with phenomena reported through his own  scientific research. It explores the experiences of health care workers who are involved with EOL-care  and who feel that they need a better understanding of the dying process.

A Nurse/Director of a Health Care Center in Canada, BC is reported to have said, “No one dies alone in my hospital.”  Why, she was asked. Her response: On her first meeting with her hospice patients, she asks, “Who do you think will come to collect you?”  “Just dwell on that. ” Sooner or later they give a name, say, “Meghan” or “Mary” or Fatima”.  Then each morning she (the Nurse) asks them, “Did Meghan or Mary or Fatima visit you?” And if the answer is “No”, she says to keep on waiting. And one day, the answer is “Yes”, so she then says, “Next time Mary or Meghan come for you, go!” So, it’s generally a matter of a day or two when the patient passes peacefully.

Another great book on Dying is by Monika Renz, a Swiss Psychiatrist. “Renz divides dying into three parts: pre-transition, transition, and post-transition. As we die, all egoism and ego-centered perception fall away, bringing us to another state of consciousness, a different register of sensitivity, and an alternative dimension of spiritual connectedness. As patients pass through these stages, they offer nonverbal signals that indicate their gradual withdrawal from everyday consciousness. This transformation explains why emotional and spiritual issues become enhanced during the dying process. Relatives and practitioners are often deeply impressed and feel a sense of awe. Fear and struggle shift to trust and peace; denial melts into acceptance. At first, family problems and the need for reconciliation are urgent, but gradually these concerns fade. By delineating these processes, Renz helps practitioners grow more cognizant of the changing emotions and symptoms of the patients under their care, enabling them to respond with the utmost respect for their patients’ dignity.” She tells her patients, or the relatives of those dying, “Be Curious” Among her patients, the group that was curious had a fascinating and creative end of life experience.

In all of this I observe that Medical Science has enabled the validation of the very event that its members once doubted.

Shaahayda